sacred

Compared meaning: connected to religion or the sacred (adjective).

比较义项：与宗教、神明或精神相关的（形容词）。

• religious

  General, neutral term for anything connected with a religion or its practice; used for people, institutions, rituals; does not itself imply special reverence, unlike sacred or divine.

  泛指与某种宗教或其活动有关的事物，可用于人、机构或仪式；语气中性，本身不带sacred或divine那种特别尊崇的意味。

  Her grandmother attends religious services every Sunday morning.

  她的祖母每个星期天早上都去参加宗教仪式。

• sacred 本词

  Stresses that something is holy and deserves deep respect and careful treatment; used for places, objects, texts or promises; stronger and more specific than religious.

  强调某事物神圣，值得深深尊重并须谨慎对待；常用于地方、物品、文本或誓言，比religious更强烈、更具体。

  This temple is considered a sacred place by local villagers.

  当地村民认为这座寺庙是一个神圣的地方。

• spiritual

  Concerns the human spirit, mind or inner life rather than the body or material world; often used even outside organized religion, unlike religious, sacred and divine.

  关乎人的精神、心灵或内在生活，而非肉体或物质世界；即使脱离有组织的宗教也常被使用，这一点与religious、sacred和divine不同。

  Many people find spiritual comfort in quiet morning walks.

  许多人在安静的晨间散步中获得精神上的慰藉。

• divine

  Relates directly to God; in everyday speech it is also used loosely and enthusiastically to praise something's extraordinary beauty or quality, a hyperbolic use sacred lacks.

  直接与神有关；在日常口语中也常被随意而热情地用来形容某事物极其美丽或出色，这种夸张用法是sacred所没有的。

  Many people believe the sunset looks almost divine in its beauty.

  许多人认为这日落之美几乎美得神圣。

All four relate to religion. Religious is the general, neutral word. Sacred means holy, deserving deep respect. Spiritual concerns the human spirit, even outside religion. Divine relates to God, and is also used loosely to praise beauty. The verb 'divine' ('to guess') is not compared.

这四个词在“与宗教、神圣相关”这一义项上意思相近，但语气强弱和使用场合不同：religious最中性、最常用；sacred和divine更强调神圣、庄严，divine语气更夸张、更偏书面；spiritual涉及范围更广，可以脱离宗教而单指精神层面。这里不比较religious表示“十分认真、近乎虔诚地做某事”的引申用法，也不比较divine作动词时表示“凭直觉猜测、察知”的用法。